Connector lock structure

ABSTRACT

A connector lock structure includes: a lock arm extending from a front end to a rear end in a fitting direction and formed on a side wall of a connector housing; a pair of plate-shaped support walls provided at a rear portion of the side wall to protrude from the side wall and sandwiching a rear portion of the lock arm therebetween; a connecting portion that connects upper ends of the pair of plate-shaped support walls in a width direction to cross over the rear portion of the lock arm; and a lock operation space having a cut formed at a rear end of the connecting portion. A rear end of one of the pair of plate-shaped support walls is located closer to the front end of the lock arm than the rear end of the lock arm in the fitting direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority of Japanese PatentApplication No. 2020-094302 filed on May 29, 2020, the entire contentsof which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a connector lock structure.

BACKGROUND

An example of a connector lock structure allows a connector housing anda counterpart connector housing to be held in a fitted state (see, forexample, JP-A-2006-216322).

As illustrated in FIG. 8 , the connector lock structure disclosed inJP-A-2006-216322 includes a lock arm 515 provided on an upper surface ofa female housing 510 and having a lock protrusion 515A, protective walls516 provided on both sides of the lock arm 515, and an anti-reverse wall(connecting portion) 518 which prevents the lock arm 515 from rolling upto cross over an operation portion 515F of the lock arm 515.

The anti-reverse wall 518 is connected to an upper surface of the femalehousing 510 by a support wall 518A. The anti-reverse wall 518 is formedwith a finger through hole (lock operation space) 518B opened at a rearend so that the finger can press the operation portion 515F.

SUMMARY

However, in the connector lock structure described above, when a widthdimension of the female housing 510 is reduced due to miniaturization ofthe connector, a gap between the support walls 518A on both sidessupporting the anti-reverse wall 518 are narrowed. Then, when the gapbetween the support walls 518A on both sides are narrowed, a width ofthe finger through hole 518B opened at the rear end of the anti-reversewall 518 is also narrowed. Consequently, in the miniaturized connector,the finger may hit the support walls 518A on both sides during unlockingoperation, which may make it difficult to press the finger against theoperation portion 515F. Therefore, the related-art structure may leadreduction of an unlocking property.

The disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances and anobject thereof is to provide a lock structure of a compact connectorcapable of ensuring workability at the time of unlocking operation whileprotecting a lock arm.

The present disclosure provides a connector lock structure including: alock arm extending from a front end to a rear end in a fitting directionand formed on a side wall of a connector housing, the lock arm beingconfigured to hold a fitted state by elastically engaging a counterpartconnector housing; a pair of plate-shaped support walls provided at arear portion of the side wall to protrude from the side wall, the pairof plate-shaped support walls sandwiching a rear portion of the lock armtherebetween; a connecting portion that connects upper ends of the pairof plate-shaped support walls in a width direction to cross over therear portion of the lock arm; and a lock operation space having a cutformed at a rear end of the connecting portion, wherein a rear end ofone of the pair of plate-shaped support walls is located closer to thefront end of the lock arm than the rear end of the lock arm in thefitting direction.

According to the connector lock structure according to the disclosure,it is possible to provide a lock structure of a compact connectorcapable of ensuring workability at the time of unlocking operation whileprotecting the lock arm.

The disclosure is briefly described above. The details of the disclosurewill be further clarified by reading through the description ofembodiment (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) described belowwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a fitted state of a connectorhousing and a counterpart connector housing forming a connector lockstructure according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a top view and a side view of the connector housingand the counterpart connector housing illustrated in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the connector housing illustrated inFIG. 1 as viewed from a front side and FIG. 3B is a perspective viewbefore inserting a terminal into the connector housing illustrated inFIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3B;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the connector housing illustrated in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the connector housing andthe counterpart connector housing illustrated in FIG. 1 ;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory views for explaining an unlockingoperation of the connector housing illustrated in FIG. 6 ; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a connector of the related art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the disclosure will be describedwith reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a fitted state of a connectorhousing 10 and a counterpart connector housing 40 forming a connectorlock structure according to the embodiment of the disclosure. FIGS. 2Aand 2B are a top view and a side view of the connector housing 10 andthe counterpart connector housing 40 illustrated in FIG. 1 .

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the connector lock structure accordingto the embodiment includes the connector housing 10 and the counterpartconnector housing 40. Here, the connector housing 10 is a femaleconnector housing in which a female terminal 31 is accommodated in aterminal accommodation chamber 12. The counterpart connector housing 40is a male connector housing in which a male terminal (not illustrated)is arranged in a connector fitting portion 41. In the followingdescription, a side (left side in FIG. 2 ) which fits into thecounterpart connector housing 40 is a front side of the connectorhousing 10.

The connector lock structure according to the embodiment includes a lockarm 21 formed on an upper wall (side wall) 10 a of the connector housing10, a pair of plate-shaped support walls 17 and 19 provided at a rearportion of the upper wall 10 a to protrude from the upper wall 10 a tosandwich a rear portion of the lock arm 21 therebetween, a connectingportion 15 which connects upper ends of the pair of plate-shaped supportwalls 17 and 19 in a width direction (up-down direction in of FIG. 2A)to cross a rear portion of the lock arm 21, a lock operation space 16having a cut formed at a rear end of the connecting portion 15 so thatan operator such as a finger can press a rear portion of the lock arm21, and a rear end 19 a of one plate-shaped support wall 19 set to belocated further on a front side in a fitting direction than a rear end21 a of the lock arm 21 as a main configuration.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the counterpart connector housing 40of the embodiment is formed as a molded product of synthetic resin andhas a rectangular-shaped tubular connector fitting portion 41. A fittingportion 11 of the connector housing 10, which will be described below,is inserted and fitted into the connector fitting portion 41 in asubstantially close contact state. On a back wall of the connectorfitting portion 41, a tab terminal portion of a male terminal isprotrudes toward an open end.

A lock portion 43 formed with a cut is provided on a top wall of theconnector fitting portion 41. The lock claw (locking protrusion) 25 ofthe lock arm 21, which will be described below, is locked to the lockportion 43.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the connector housing 10 illustrated inFIG. 1 as viewed from a front side and FIG. 3B is a perspective viewbefore inserting the female terminal 31 into the connector housing 10illustrated in FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along theline Iv-Iv in FIG. 3B. FIG. 5 is a top view of the connector housing 10illustrated in FIG. 3A.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 5 , the connector housing 10 of theembodiment is formed as a molded product made of synthetic resin and hasa substantially rectangular tubular shape as a whole. A front half ofthe connector housing 10 is the fitting portion 11 which can be insertedinto the connector fitting portion 41 of the counterpart connectorhousing 40. The inside of the connector housing 10 including the fittingportion 11 is the terminal accommodation chamber 12 of the femaleterminal 31 which receives a male terminal of the counterpart connectorhousing 40 via a front end opening 12 a.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 , a cantilever-shaped lance 13 for retainingthe female terminal 31 is provided in the terminal accommodation chamber12 and the female terminal 31 inserted from a rear end opening 12 b ofthe connector housing 10 is held by the lance 13.

As illustrated in FIG. 3B, the female terminal 31 has, for example, apair of elastic curl portions 32 serving as electrical contact portionsat a tip in an insertion direction. The elastic curl portions 32 areformed on both sides of a substrate portion by being bent inward in asubstantially mountain-shaped cross section. In the female terminal 31,a wire crimping portion 35 including a conductor crimping portion 33 forcrimping conductor of an electric wire 37 and a covering crimpingportion 34 for fixing the electric wire 37 is continuously providedbehind the elastic curl portion 32.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the upper wall 10 a of the connectorhousing 10 is formed with the lock arm 21 which holds a fitted state byelastically engaging the counterpart connector housing 40.

The lock arm 21 includes a cantilever-shaped arm portion 22 extendingrearward at intervals from a base end portion 20 raised from the upperwall 10 a of the connector housing 10 to the upper wall 10 a of theconnector housing 10. Between the upper wall 10 a of the connectorhousing 10 and a lower surface of the arm portion 22, a bending space(void) 30 which allows bending deformation of the arm portion 22 at thetime of fitting with the counterpart connector housing 40 is provided.

Therefore, a rear end portion (free end portion) of the lock arm 21receives an operating force and bends and deforms in a pressingdirection (downward in FIGS. 3A and 3B), and when the operating force isremoved, an original cantilever shape is restored by its own repulsiveforce. The lock arm 21 has the lock claw 25 locked to the lock portion43 of the counterpart connector housing 40 on an upper surface in amiddle portion of the arm portion 22. A lock operation portion 23protruding upward is provided on an upper surface of the rear endportion of the arm portion 22.

That is, the lock arm 21 maintains the fitted state of the connectorhousing 10 and the counterpart connector housing 40 by locking the lockclaw 25 to the lock portion 43 of the counterpart connector housing 40.In the lock arm 21, when the lock operation portion 23 is pusheddownward by an operator such as a finger, the operation force isintensively applied to the lock operation portion 23, and thus the rearend portion is bent and deformed downward.

The pair of plate-shaped support walls 17 and 19 according to thepresent embodiment are provided to protrude upward on a rear side of theupper wall 10 a to sandwich therebetween the rear end portion of thelock arm 21 including the lock operation portion 23 in the widthdirection. The pair of plate-shaped support walls 17 and 19 are arrangedin parallel with a gap W1 having a slight gap with respect to both sidesurfaces of the lock arm 21.

As illustrated in FIG. 5 , one plate-shaped support wall 19 is set sothat the rear end 19 a is located further on a front side than the rearend 21 a of the lock arm 21 in the fitting direction. That is, the otherplate-shaped support wall 19 has a shorter length L2 in the fittingdirection, compared to a length L1 in the fitting direction of the otherplate-shaped support wall 17 set so that the rear end 17 a is locatedfurther on a rear side than the rear end 21 a of the lock arm 21 in thefitting direction.

In the connecting portion 15 of the embodiment, upper ends of the pairof plate-shaped support walls 17 and 19 are connected in the widthdirection to cross the rear portion of the lock arm 21. At the rear endof the connecting portion 15, the lock operation space 16 is formed sothat a finger 50 can be pressed against the lock operation portion 23 ofthe lock arm 21.

The lock operation space 16 of the embodiment is opened so that theentire upper surface of the lock operation portion 23 is exposed in atop view. The lock operation space 16 is formed by cutting theconnecting portion 15 in which the upper ends of the pair ofplate-shaped support walls 17 and 19 having different lengths areconnected in the width direction. Therefore, the lock operation space 16has an opening space W2 wider than the gap W1 of the pair ofplate-shaped support walls 17 and 19 on the one plate-shaped supportwall 19 side where the length L2 in the fitting direction is shorterthan the length L1 of the other plate-shaped support wall 17.

Next, an operation of the configuration described above will bedescribed.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the connector housing 10and the counterpart connector housing 40 illustrated in FIG. 1 . FIGS.7A and 7B are explanatory views for explaining an unlocking operation ofthe connector housing 10 illustrated in FIG. 6 .

According to the connector lock structure according to the embodiment,as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, and 6 , when an undesired externalforce directed downward from above is applied to the lock arm 21, forexample, when an object hits the lock arm 21, the external force isreceived by the pair of plate-shaped support walls 17 and 19 provided tosandwich the rear portion of the lock arm 21 therebetween. Therefore,the lock arm is prevented from being bent by an external force.Therefore, the pair of plate-shaped support walls 17 and 19 prevent thesituation in which an external force is applied to the lock arm 21 ofthe connector housing 10 and the bending of the lock arm itselfdisengages it from the counterpart connector housing 40, and further thefitted state is impaired from occurring.

When an undesired external force directed upward from below is appliedto the lock arm 21, for example, when a rear portion of the lock arm 21is caught in an object, the external force is received by the connectingportion 15 which connects the upper ends of the pair of plate-shapedsupport walls 17 and 19 in the width direction. Therefore, theconnecting portion 15 prevents the lock arm 21 from being undesirablyrolled up by an external force. Therefore, the connecting portion 15prevents the lock arm 21 of the connector housing 10 from beingplastically deformed by an external force.

The rear end 19 a of one plate-shaped support wall 19 is set to belocated further on a front side than the rear end 21 a of the lock arm21 in the fitting direction and the length L2 in the fitting directionis shorter than the length L1 in the fitting direction of the otherplate-shaped support wall 17 set so that the rear end 17 a is locatedfurther on a rear side than the rear end 21 a of the lock arm 21 in thefitting direction. Therefore, as illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B, thelock operation space 16 having a cut formed at the rear end of theconnecting portion 15 has an opening space W2 spread on one plate-shapedsupport wall 19 side. As a result, it becomes difficult for the finger50 to hit one plate-shaped support wall 19 during unlocking operation.In particular, even when a width dimension of the upper wall 10 a of theconnector housing 10 becomes smaller and the gap W1 between the pair ofplate-shaped support walls 17 and 19 is narrowed, it does not becomedifficult to press the finger 50 against the upper surface of the lockoperation portion 23 at the rear portion of the lock arm 21. As aresult, unlockability does not decrease.

The rear end 17 a of the other plate-shaped support wall 17 is set to belocated further on the rear side than the rear end 21 a of the lock arm21 in the fitting direction. Therefore, an undesired external forcedirected downward from above is not applied to the lock arm 21.

Therefore, even when the connector housing 10 is miniaturized,workability at the time of unlocking operation can be ensured.

According to the connector lock structure according to the embodiment,the upper surface of the lock operation portion 23 is entirely exposedfrom the lock operation space 16 in the top view. Therefore, during theunlocking operation, the finger 50 can easily press the lock operationportion 23.

Therefore, according to the connector lock structure according to theembodiment described above, it is possible to provide a lock structureof a compact connector capable of ensuring workability at the time ofunlocking operation while protecting the lock arm 21.

The disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment and canbe appropriately modified, improved, and the like. The material, shape,size, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component inthe above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as longas the disclosure can be achieved.

Here, the features of the above-described embodiment of the connectorlock structure according to the disclosure are briefly summarized asItems [1] to [3] listed below.

[1] A connector lock structure including: a lock arm (21) extending froma front end to a rear end in a fitting direction and formed on a sidewall (upper wall 10 a) of a connector housing (10), the lock arm (21)being configured to hold a fitted state by elastically engaging acounterpart connector housing (40); a pair of plate-shaped support walls(17, 19) provided at a rear portion of the side wall (upper wall 10 a)to protrude from the side wall (upper wall 10 a), the pair ofplate-shaped support walls (17, 19) sandwiching a rear portion of thelock arm (21) therebetween; a connecting portion (15) that connectsupper ends of the pair of plate-shaped support walls (17, 19) in a widthdirection to cross over the rear portion of the lock arm (21); and alock operation space (16) having a cut formed at a rear end of theconnecting portion (15), wherein a rear end (19 a) of one (19) of thepair of plate-shaped support walls (17, 19) is located closer to thefront end of the lock arm (21) than the rear end (21 a) of the lock arm(21) in the fitting direction.

[2] The connector lock structure according to <1>,

wherein the lock arm (21) includes a lock operation portion (23)provided on and protruding from an upper surface of the rear portion ofthe lock arm (21), and

wherein an upper surface of the lock operation portion (23) is entirelyexposed from the lock operation space (16) in a top view.

[3] The connector lock structure according to <1> or <2>,

wherein the lock operation space (23) is configured to allow a finger(50) to press the rear portion of the lock arm (21).

According to the connector lock structure according to Item [1], when anundesired external force directed downward from above is applied to thelock arm, for example, when an object hits the lock arm, the externalforce is received by the pair of plate-shaped support walls provided tosandwich the rear portion of the lock arm therebetween. Therefore, thelock arm is prevented from being bent by an external force. Therefore,the pair of plate-shaped support walls prevent the situation in which anexternal force is applied to the lock arm of the connector housing andthe bending of the lock arm itself disengages it from the counterpartconnector housing, and further the fitted state is impaired fromoccurring.

When an undesired external force directed upward from below is appliedto the lock arm, for example, when a rear portion of the lock arm iscaught in an object, the external force is received by the connectingportion which connects the upper ends of the pair of plate-shapedsupport walls in the width direction. Therefore, the connecting portionprevents the lock arm from being undesirably rolled up by an externalforce. Therefore, the connecting portion prevents the lock arm of theconnector housing from being plastically deformed by an external force.

The rear end of one plate-shaped support wall is located closer to thefront end of the lock arm than the rear end of the lock arm in thefitting direction. A length of the one plate-shaped support wall in thefitting direction may be shorter than that of the other plate-shapedsupport wall set so that the rear end of the other plate-shaped supportwall is located away from the front end of lock arm than the rear end ofthe lock arm in the fitting direction. Therefore, the lock operationspace having a cut formed at the rear end of the connecting portion hasan opening space spread on one plate-shaped support wall side. As aresult, it becomes difficult for the operator to hit one plate-shapedsupport wall during unlocking operation. In particular, even when awidth dimension of the side wall of the connector housing becomessmaller and a gap between the pair of plate-shaped support walls isnarrowed, it does not become difficult to press the operator against theupper portion of the lock arm. As a result, unlockability does notdecrease. The rear end of the other plate-shaped support wall is set tobe located further on the rear side than the rear end of the lock arm inthe fitting direction. Therefore, an undesired external force directeddownward from above is not applied to the lock arm. Therefore, even whenthe connector housing is miniaturized, workability at the time ofunlocking operation can be ensured.

According to the connector lock structure according to Item [2], theupper surface of the lock operation portion is entirely exposed from thelock operation space in the top view. Therefore, during the unlockingoperation, the operator can easily press the lock operation portion.

According to the connector lock structure according to Item [3], thelock operation space is configured to allow a finger to press the rearportion of the lock arm. Therefore, during the unlocking operation, thelock operation portion can easily pressed by the finger.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A connector lock structure comprising: alock arm extending from a front end to a rear end in a fitting directionand formed on a side wall of a connector housing, the lock arm beingconfigured to hold a fitted state by elastically engaging a counterpartconnector housing; a pair of plate-shaped support walls provided at arear portion of the side wall to protrude from the side wall, the pairof plate-shaped support walls sandwiching a rear portion of the lock armtherebetween; a connecting portion that connects upper ends of the pairof plate-shaped support walls in a width direction to cross over therear portion of the lock arm; and a lock operation space having a cutformed at a rear end of the connecting portion, wherein a rear end ofone of the pair of plate-shaped support walls is located closer to thefront end of the lock arm than the rear end of the lock arm in thefitting direction.
 2. The connector lock structure according to claim 1,wherein the lock arm comprises a lock operation portion provided on andprotruding from an upper surface of the rear portion of the lock arm,and wherein an upper surface of the lock operation portion is entirelyexposed from the lock operation space in a top view.
 3. The connectorlock structure according to claim 1, wherein the lock operation space isconfigured to allow a finger to press the rear portion of the lock arm.4. The connector lock structure according to claim 1, wherein a firstwall among the pair of plate-shaped support walls is shorter than asecond wall among the pair of plate-shaped support walls.
 5. Theconnector lock structure according to claim 1, wherein a rear end of afirst wall among the pair of plate-shaped support walls is closer to thefront end of the lock arm and a rear end of a second wall among the pairof plate-shaped support walls is closer to the rear end of the lock arm.6. The connector lock structure according to claim 1, wherein theconnection portion is provided above the rear portion of the lock arm.7. The connector lock structure according to claim 1, wherein a rear endof a first wall among the pair of plate-shaped support walls is locatedcloser to the front end of the lock arm than the rear end of the lockarm in the fitting direction, and wherein a rear end of a second wallamong the pair of plate-shaped support walls is located farther from thefront end of the lock arm than the rear end of the lock arm in thefitting direction.